Creating Interest: July 2013

Hello, my name is Marie and I am a bead hoarder.

Yes, I don't like that name, I would appreciate; collector, connoisseur, keeper of beautiful objects...

Oh, I jumped at the idea of this Blog Hop thinking it would be fun and a no brainer... I could do this even if I can't see. I won't be doing any tiny needle work, I'll tell you now, I had to make up my mind that if I want to do what I like, I have to back away a little and just do what I can... . I hadn't considered all the places that I have 'stashed' my jewels, where all I would have to climb, jump, crawl on hands and knees, Wow! ... I have them here and there and seemingly everywhere. I kind of want to sing that old Macdonald song... eieio. When I started out, I also thought doing the work would be ok, my eyes are a tiny bit better, well, the left eye is better, I can't stand having my right eye open for long. But back to the story, I didn't realize that it would be so long in making my first project, which is nothing like anything I've done before, well, I've made odd necklaces, and used the materials, but the techniques were totally governed by my eyes. I also didn't think about taking pictures.

Turritella communis fossil pendant

Thus far, I haven't taken a picture since I have gone into this ordeal with my eyes. Or if I did, it was on the little Nikon, which is hit or miss and usually it is just point it and shoot. I was amazed at how using the left eye is so much different in the picture outcome than I had realized, seems everything is thrown off to one side now! I did get some pictures along the way, and I stayed up late thinking I would play around with the timer, lighting, and backgrounds... well, that didn't last long!

This first necklace is kind of a fun ode to summer. I found the heart shaped pendant at a little shop in Salado, Texas a couple of years ago. I had completely forgotten about it, I like it because it is a fossil, and it is pretty. When we lived in central Texas, I would dig in the yard for fossils and made different crafts out of them, now I live further West and there are still fossils, I just don't get out and dig in the yard anymore.
I wanted to make this very earthy and summery, and I kind of like it, a mixture of odds and ends, I found a piece of peyote stitch ribbon that I didn't like for whatever reason, but it matched just right, not very long, but I like it. I also used shells, crystal, glass beads, glass pearls, real pearls, and there is even a piece of jasper left over from the BSBP from Shannon Hicks, who is in this blog hop as well at Falling Into The Sky. Go see what she made! Back to the ncklace... there are two types of yarn, bound by beads woven around. I like the light color. I was so impressed that I had finally made something with the pendant that I had forgotten, the day I bought it, I had this wonderful organic necklace in mind, with tons of seed beads and some pearls that I got from my grandmother, and some shells that we brought back from the Solway Firth, they would be perfect... now I can't find those shells, so I made do with these that I purchased for a totally different project!
I made another necklace. There is the picture in the blog below that shows the choices I had, but I had found so many more beads after that, I just couldn't decide... and I was getting kind of creeped out, thinking this is the first step, next I'll have a house full of cats and become a hermit... people will say, she was so nice, but we noticed that she was climbing out her window...

No, I'm not that bad yet, but you never know what sets that kind of behavior off. I do hoard, which is really saying, I do a lot of crafts and have every room full of my junk. So I say, we need to have a bi-monthly bead hoarder blog hop, so I can declutter. Like I said, I thought this would be easy, how many beads could I have stashed away? hmmm, mmm, hm, I won't answer that. If my sewing machines haven't gotten me committed, the beads would. I actually got kind of excited when I saw some of the beads that I have fondled and caressed and gently put away in drawers, cabinets, wardrobes... It was like seeing old friends, hello pretty bead, aw, you haven't aged a bit...
This is the second necklace I made. I don't know where I got any of the beads. I liked them, but never got further than putting them away in the dresser that serves as an overflow for my workbench.

I do remember when I bought the beads I had in mind a very oriental feel for the necklace. I think I just got caught up in the day to day and forgot where I put them and just didn't give another thought about the beads, you know, out of sight, out of mind.? I love the red beads, and I like the patina look in the big beads. They aren't expensive, I think I got them on half or more off... and that was cool with me ! I don't mind mixing my beads, some nice, some almost on the cheap side. I figure that no one else will use them, and they are kind of fun. The clasp is from the Rebecca Nunn collection of Adorned Life. I love the pieces, they are so heavy and feel like they are expensive. The necklace is kind of long, the reason I can wrap it around the neck of the display.

There are so many beads that I love, I buy these cool colors and stick them in a drawer... I usually work with lighter colors, since my eyes have been so bad, that is the safest thing to do, but I hold out hope that something can be done so I can work on darker colors... These were really tough to string, the more I worked on them , the less I could see. I had to walk away time and time again, but I got them done

white or purple?

trying out colors with the mesh

I wasn't satisfied with just doing the two other necklaces, so I went ahead and made the black and white necklace (that nearly ended up as purple and black) that I had in mind when I found the black knit wire, which by the way, I love. I bought some of the silver, gold, and copper Silversilk a couple of years ago and loved it. I have used it for bracelets, necklaces, even earrings. It is so pretty and versatile, and not as expensive as I thought it would be... but it wasn't something I would just play around with. I did take my torch to the copper, which I was kind of worried about, you never know what the content is of copper that you get now a days... but it was really nice copper. It made a nice patina and I used the piece in a rustic bracelet.

trying out beads, I didn't go with this clasp

Finally the white pearl and black beads won out when I started this, I really thought about doing hot pink or fluorescent green... that would be cool, but this is nice... kind of plain, but I might add something else later on. I had thought about using the knit wire as a ribbon and winding it around the length of the necklace... but this is as far as I got, well, I got a bracelet done as well. I thought the bracelet needed something else so I used a red beaded head pin for the flower. I am tired, my eyes hurt every day after working on anything, but it was fun and I need to do some work to keep me out of trouble.. You see, I look at beading as therapy. I have time to think, to rest, and to curse if I want to, and there isn't anyone that will curse me back... Ha,

black mesh flowers on the necklace... bracelet on top with mesh flower

Sorry that the color on this isn't that great, I'll see if I can get a better picture, but it is really difficult for me to see the setup on the camera... maybe get the Nikon out and see if it will take a better pic. It has a screen to see what the picture looks like, ummmm, a display, which the Cannon doesn't show you the pic on the screen until after it's taken. Drives me kind of batty, trying to squint with the wrong eye!

So I hope you enjoyed the little goodies that I made for today. Please go over to Pretty Things Blog to see the list of reveals, and visit as many as you can. I haven't seen any yet, but I know there are a lot of really great talents on the list, and I am sure they will all deliver something great! I hope that I get to see every blog, I know it will take a while, quite a while... but I am willing to read one blog a day if that is what it takes!
Enjoy!!!

circular clasp, hinge on one side small clasp on opposite, seems sluggish

PS... has anyone used this kind of clasp? It has both side that are round, one side has a tiny hinge and a tiny clasp opposite the hinge. I love the look, but it isn't easy to open, Maybe I am just not doing it right????